London-based
SolarBotanic Trees Ltd has been selected by the
Central Research Laboratory (CRL) as one of seven start-ups to participate in its 2023 ‘Accelerator’ programme. The intensive three-month programme will see a dedicated team of product designers from CRL working on the development of the first commercial prototype of SolarBotanic’s innovative solar ‘tree’.
The CRL and SolarBotanic team will be working alongside the design engineering and prototyping team from the
Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield that has been working on the industrial design. The AMRC team has been developing the full-scale field prototype as the company moves towards full-scale commercial production by the end of 2023.
The project will also commence initial beta testing of dedicated AI software, which will use real data from the field demonstration-scaled prototype to simulate how the trees will perform across a range of atmospheric conditions in the UK and worldwide.
Chris Shelley, CEO of SolarBotanic Trees, said: “Working with CRL team members with a strong track record in industrial design is a huge boost to the project from a product perspective. It will add further momentum by bringing in the skills and experience of rapidly bringing products to market. The design team will complement the industrial engineering excellence being provided by the AMRC as we move closer to the design freeze to move to the next stage of production.”
The CRL Accelerator programme provides hardware startups with world-class industrial product design and usability capabilities to assist development of products that will contribute to a ‘net zero’ future. The programme is partially funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Research England Development Fund that seeks to support pioneering start-ups that are working towards the global ‘net zero’ goals.
Jim Reeves, product development director with CRL, said: “SolarBotanic Trees is an interesting project for CRL that presents some unique industrial design challenges. They are seeking a new approach towards solar, looking to balance aesthetics of the built environment with our needs for a ‘net zero’ future.”
The CRL Accelerator programme launched in 2015 and has already successfully supported hundreds of startups by building everything from next generation modular battery technology for sustainable storage to precision retroreflectors to help eliminate space debris.